Managing Self-Service Terminals (SSTs), such as Self-Service Checkout (SSCO) stations, is often a laborious task especially when there are multiple lanes SSCO stations. Each SSCO station needs to communicate with a store server and typically this is done through a management terminal. The management terminal is configured to monitor some of the SSCO stations and is typically within line of sight or close distance to the SSCO stations that the management terminal manages. This is so, because should assistance or overrides be needed, a clerk managing a management terminal can see what is happening on the management terminal and quickly assist.
However, because a single clerk can only handle a limited number of SSCO stations and because a management terminal can only manage report information from a limited number of SSCO stations, a single management terminal cannot be too loaded. As a result, a typical retail setting will have several management terminals.
One issue that occurs with some regularity is that a customer may not be able to properly scan an item while operating the SSCO, which requires manual assistance from a clerk operating one of the management terminals. Clerk assistance can be needed at the SSCO for a variety of other reasons as well, such as: customer age verification for purchasing an item where the age of the customer is needed, weight verification for an item that needs weighed, and item visual verification for an item that is unusually expensive or close in appearance to a different item where the price varies substantially between the two items (such as normal produce versus organic produce).
During periods of high customer traffic, the clerks that operate the management terminals can become overloaded and the queues at the SSCOs can grow in length. This causes customer frustration and reduces throughput of a retailer, which can ultimately adversely affect customer loyalty to the retailer and the retailer's revenues.